Conveyer



Nov. 2o, 11.923.

P. J. WALSH CONVEYER Filed Oct. 19, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 in l 4.

Patented Nov. 2.0, 1923.

UN'i'rEN stas CONVEYER.

Application led october 19, 1921.1 serial No. 508,667.

To @ZZ lwhom t may concern Be it known that I, PATRICK J. WALSH, acitizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Worcester, inthe countyof l/Vorcester andCommonwealth -of Massachusetts, haveinventedcertain new and use'- ful Improvements in Conveyers, of whichthe following is a specification.`

This invention relates to conveying mechanism and more particularly to atype suitable for use in rolling mills, to receivev metal i'ods, barsand the like and 'convey them to a distant point for the purpos'e'ofcooling or assembling for further distribution.

In this type of conveyer it `hasloeen the practice to receive the rods,as they came from the mill, in a trough-like structure which wasprovided with a seriesv 0f vrolls whose peripheries projected throughthe floor of the trough. These 'rolls were conical in shapeand weredriven in the proper direction to give longitudinal advancement to therods until suc-h time as the rods had reached the required location,whenthe axes of the rolls were swung to thereby cause a broadsidemovement or travel to the rods', which carried them into operativeposition with other devices by which they were removed from the trough.

Heretofore these rolls were' driven 'insef ries by an endless beltorby amotor directly connected to'each roll. The former of these methods wasveryv unsatisfactory, due to the frequent breaking of the rope 'or beltdrive which occasioned the shutting down of the conveyer for repairs,and stretching of the rope, causing slippage and lack of uniform drive.The latteror motor drive is a costly one to install and as eachindividual motor requires frequent attentionv it will be readily seenthat the first cost had to be followed up by the additional one forlabor, together with the fact that the motors as used are inductionmotors and a uniformity of speed for a series vis diflicult to maintain.Obviously,`the possibilityof breakdown increased with the number ofmotors used.

An object of -the-present invention is to dispense with both of theabove methods, and instead produce a drive that is capable of driving aseries of rolls in a positive and unifor-nimannerand speed.` A furtherobject is to so arrange thepositive drive means-that the 'rolls may, beswungin such manner as to cause'- 'a change of direction of travel ofthe bars from a longitudinal to a' lateral direction, .thena-- ture ofthe drive means aiding'in vtheswing'- ing movement'.

Anotherobject of theinventionis tol produce a dr'ive'means vhaving ailthe virtues Y above described,lw`ith the additional `advantage ofsimple' structure, which when"once installed will last indefinitely,andw'hich requires but little attention injthe' upkeep thereof, such,`for instance, as' occasional?,

oiling. y I

Durability of conveyers of this type'is especially essential in 'millshaving-J great Aproduction, as kit will be readilyv seen that abreakdown of conveyor' means that the mill withy whichitcooperates'mustshut in the figure as having been swung'to effectdischarge of a rod or bal to other handling" devices not formingapart'of this Linvention. V

Figure 2 an enlarged viewI of one ofthe p rolls shown in Figure 1. l

Figure a viewlooking in the direction of tlie'arrows 'Ay-ifi. Figures' 2and Il, showing the roll and certain other parts in section. Y

Figure l a View looking in the direction of arrow B, Figure 8.

`Figure 5 a top plan view similar-'to Figure 2 lbut showing the roll innormal position to cause longitudinal 'advancement to the 'rod or bar. p

Like characters designate like parts throughout the several figures ofthe drawings.

Referring to vthe drawings:

The hereinshown' conveyer iis yof 4a type used at the rpresent time,whereinfthe 'material to be conveyed may 'be a rod-"or'fbar ofconsiderable length and weight and which is presented to the conveyer bythe feed rollsY of a mill. ln this instance the material is fed to theconveyor in the direction of the arrow C, (see Figure 1) and preferablythe surface speed of .the rolls approximates that of the fed material.

The purpose of the conveyer is to relieveA the mill of its finishedproduct and convey it to some distant point to cool or to be assembledfor further distribution. To accomplish the above, a trough-like runway10 is provided. havingaside wall11 at the left Vside thereof and cutawayportions 12 and 13, the former to accommodate the conical rolls 14 andthe latter to accommodate the elevator members 15 to be later brieflydescribed. i

The runway 10 willbe positioned to suitthe use thereof and will bevsupported in any well-known or suitable manner. y

A channel'iron or girder` 16 forming part of the supporting structurefor the trough 10 has at intervals fast thereto brackets 17 whichconstitute supporting members for the rolls 14 and the drive meanstherefor.

Viewing Figures 3 and 4 the bracket is shown as provided with bearings18 and 19 for a vertical shaft 20 which also servesas a pivotal supportfor the roll carrying bracket 21 in conjunction with said bearing 18.The said bracket 21 having a cylindrical depending portion 22 revolublymounted 'in bearing 18 and resting therein upon `an adjustable stepthreaded bolt 24 having a running fit with the shaft 20 and verticallyadjustable in the bearing 18 by means of the screw threads therein. Abushing 25 is interposed bei tween the shaft 20 and the portion 22 as isusual in such instances.

The shaft 2O has fast thereto at the upperV f end thereof a bevel gear26 `meshing with bevel gear 27 fast on a shaft 28 to which is alsosecured the roll 14. rlhe said shaft 28 being provided with a bushing 29and revolubly held in a bearing 30 of the bracket 21 by a nut 31.

j At the lower end of said shaft 20 a bevel gear 35 is mounted, theshaft being squared as at 36 to correspond with the breached hole 37 inthe vgear 85 and hub thereof. The said hub 38 is rotatably'held in thebearing 19 in such manner that adjustment of the bracket 21 andconsequently the shaft 2O vertically may take place,.the squared portion36 of shaft 2O while forming a driving` means for said gear is capableof sliding therein to compensate for the adjustment above referred to.

At the lower end of the bracket 17 a bear-- ing is provided for the maindrive shaft 40, in fact each of the brackets is so provided or as manythereof as will consistently support the said shaft.

28Y composed of a screw Lernens The drawing Figure 1 shows but two driverolls 14 but it will be understood that the number Vmay be increased theYdesire-d amount. Each drive/roll will be mounted Vwith the gears 35 oneof each of which shown.

From the foregoing it will be readily seen that the power of shaft 40 istransmitted byV gear 41 to gear 35, shaft`20, gear to gear 27 andconsequently drives rolls 14. rlhis arrangement one because of itssimplicity, reliability and durability Y The Yservice forv which thisconveyor is designed is such that it is necessary to so is a thoroughlypractical Y arrange the rolls 14 that they mayV first serve to advancethe rods longitudinally to the approximate required position andthereafter cause t-he said rods to be moved later-- ally to bedischarged.

Ej n v 1 v 11`n175 n .17+ i oL t is puipose ie io cair ing hattet 21 ispivotally mounted about the Referring to Figures 2, and 5 particu ylarly, the said bracket 2 1 tended therefrom an arm has outwardly eX- 45having a truck sha ft 20. i

46 pivotally mounted thereon. Coacting;

with said truck is a cam 47 fast with land between the shiftable bar 48which in turn find suitable guide means in a gutter-like way 49 securedto the girder 16.

rlhe bar 48 is preferably under manual control as regards the time ofshift but the actual movement thereof may be leffected by any well-knownor suitable means.

An arm 50 also extending from said bracket 21 has spring connection with'a stationary strut 51, the tensionof the spring 52'being adjustable'bymeans of the bolt 53 and nut 54.

During the longitudinal advancement of the rods the rolls 14 willassume'positions,

as indicated in Figure 5 wherein the roll 46` is resting on the highpart of cam 47 and held snugly thereto by the spring 52. This positionlof rolls 14 advances the rods longitudinally and proper longitudinalalignment of tlierofls .preparatory to the dischargethereof.

Yof the rolls 14 will cause lateral movement e to the rods, which willbring them into a position to be eventually raised byl they elevators 15and subsequently disposed ofas desired.

slightly to the left tillA they `meet the wall 11 which ensures theShifting the said bars V48 to bring the lower part of cam 47 oppositethe truck 46 allows springs 52 to swing the brackets 21 in the directionof arrovv D; Figure 5 until said brackets and rolls 14 assume theposition seen in Figure 2. The amount of swing given to the brackets maybe regulated by the inclines of the cams or the amount of shift of thebars 48,

During longitudinal advancement of the rods the axes X-X of the rollsWill preferably assume a slight angular posi Eon relative to aV lineg/Ag/ perpendicular to the wall 11 (see Fig. and when lateral movementis being imparted the axes will assume approximately the position shownin Figure 2 The rotation of gears 26 is in a convenient direction toassist the springs 52 in swing ing the brackets 21 from the positionshown in Figure 5 to that shown in Figure 2, such aid being material, asthe rods are of considerable Weight and naturally resist the swingingmovement of the rolls.

Since the invention resides in the means for driving the rolls 14 it hasnot been deemed necessary to enter into great detail as to the structuregenerally or to the apparatus which may act in conjunction with it, asit is obvious that changes might be made in the construction andarrangement of parts Without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

Having described the invention I claim:

1. ln a device of the class described, a series of rotatable feed rolls;bearings for said rolls each of Which is rotatable about an axis; a maindrive shaft; and a gear drive intermediate each feed roll and said mainshaft adapted to drive said rolls irrespective of the angular positionthereof.

2. ln a. device of the class described, a series of rotatable feedrolls; bearings for said rolls each of Which is rotatable about avertical axis; a main drive shaft; and a drive intermediate each feedroll and said main shaft adapted to drive said rolls irrespective of theangular position of said rolls.

3. ln a device of the class described, a plurality of revoluble feedrolls; bearings for said rolls adapted to be rotated about verticalshafts; a plurality of vertical shafts; `gears fast on said shafts; agear for each roll in driving connection therewith; each in mesh withone of said fast gears; a main shaft; gears on said main shaft adaptedto mesh With a like gear on each of said vertical shafts; and means torotate said bearings about said vertical shafts.

4i. In a device of the class described, a plu` In a device of the class'described, a.

plurality of revoluble conical feed rolls; bearings for said rollsadapted to lbe swung about vertical shafts; a` plurality of' gears eachhaving driving connection with one of said rolls; a plurality ofvertical shafts; each having a gear fast thereon to mesh With said rollsdriving gear; a bracket to sustain each of said vertical shafts; a gearfor each of said vertical shafts havinga sliding, drivinfr connectiontherewith; means to verti' cally adjust each bearing and the shaft aboutwhich it is rotatable; simultaneously; a main drive shaft; and gears onsaid main shaft, each of which is in mesh With one of said slidablyconnectedgears. A

6. In a device of the class described, a series of rotatable feed rolls;means to positively drive said rolls at a uniform speed from a commonsource, said means including a gear train; and means to change theangular position of said rolls relatively to the material fed while thefeed rolls are being driven.

7. In a device of the class described; a series of rotatable feed rollsthe axes ofWhich are angularly arranged to a horizontal; bearings forsaid rolls adapted to revolve about vertical axes; la gear fast Witheach of said rolls rotatable about the axes of said rolls and revolubleabout said vertical axes; a vertical shaft for each roll rotatable aboutthe said vertical aXes; a gear oneach of said shafts in mesh with saidroll gear and about which said roll gear may revolve While still inmesh; means to drive lsaid shafts; and means to cause said bearings andconsequently said rolls to revolve about said axes.

hSigned by me at Boston, Mass., this 15th day of October, 1921.

PATRICK J. WALSH..

